Seeing is believing

Rookie Grossman impresses Bears with passes, poise

Rex Grossman, listed somewhat generously at 6 feet 1 inch, may be able to see aspects of the Bears' offense from a different perspective than his taller predecessors.

"He can't see everybody downfield because he's kind of a little, short guy," said running back Anthony Thomas, who caught two passes for 11 yards when he wasn't rushing for a season-best 141 yards on 31 carries. "I'm trying to get out there and try to be one of the outlets for him. I think it helps out a lot when you can throw the ball to the running back."

Grossman, who became the first rookie quarterback in modern Bears history to win his first two starts, completed 19-of-32 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns Sunday in the Bears' 27-24 victory over Washington.

His first NFL touchdown pass went 59 yards to Marty Booker in the first quarter.

Booker beat four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey on a deep route, then waltzed into the end zone for his team-high fourth TD reception of the season.

"[Grossman] probably beat me down there, he was running [to the end zone] so fast," Booker said. "He said, `Give me that!' It was his first. I was going to give it to him anyway. He beat me to it."

While Grossman's passing statistics have not been eye-popping in his first two games, he has shown exceptional field awareness and leadership. He completed four passes each to rookie Justin Gage and Booker. The deep pass to Booker was the highlight of the Bears' 429 yards of total offense.

"It was a straight go route, and [Grossman] told me in the huddle to win it," said Booker, who has at least one catch in his last 57 games to tie the club record set by Bobby Engram. "I said I would be there for him. It was just one-on-one with me and Champ. When he turned around, I guess [Bailey] lost the ball. I adjusted to it and was able to catch it and run it in."

Grossman developed a relationship on the practice field with his young receivers even before he started playing in games.

"I worked with [the young receivers] the most since training camp because they were down on the depth chart and I was down on the depth chart," Grossman said. "I know what they can do, how fast they are."

Grossman's first two offensive series did not go as planned. His first pass completion to Gage --for 9 yards--was fumbled and the Redskins recovered. On the second series, a pass intended for Booker was intercepted by cornerback Fred Smoot.

"It was just a weird play," Grossman said.

"After the first five plays I was looking for some gasoline and a match," Bears offensive coordinator John Shoop joked.

Coach Dick Jauron is impressed with Grossman's poise as the Bears head into Sunday's game at Kansas City with a chance to finish 8-8.

"Rex . . . handled the huddle, handled the changes that we made at the line of scrimmage and handled the protections," Jauron said.

Grossman's first six completions went to six receivers.

"Rex has the ability to complete balls from unusual positions," Shoop said. "And that's where your check-downs come. Your body can be all mangled, and you can still find your running back. He did that last week [against the Vikings] and he did it this week when he was scrambling and found [Thomas] for a big first down."